Blog Posts by Kunal Guha

The very mention of Subhash Ghai is enough to spring up images of the amiable floppy-hatted filmmaker who would make decided cameos in all his films. Having survived the industry for four decades, he has an impressive filmography to his credit. From the suspense classic ‘Karz’ to masala blockbuster ‘Ram Lakhan’, Ghai has tried his hand in everything. ‘Kisna’, ‘Yuvraj’ and ‘Black and White’ may not have tremendous recall with audiences but he defends them, saying that they were misunderstood and were ahead of their times. Ghai has been missing from action for the last few years given the legal hassles pertaining to his film institute, ‘Whistling Woods’. But now that he admits to have resigned from the institute, handing over the baton to his daughter, Ghai is all charged up to return to his first passion: making films. Between recording sessions of his untitled next, he was happy to spare some time with us to talk cinema and how he it has evolved in the last decade.Firstly, what have

When Esha Gupta first faced the celluloid camera, some were quick to note her resemblance to Angelina Jolie while others called her a poor man’s Lara Dutta. Her carefully sculpted jawline, her sparkling eyes and her supermodel body was enough to ensure that she bagged a couple of Bhatt films. But like every model who has attempted acting, she wasn’t spared from being discarded for being, well, just a pretty face. Two films old in the industry, Esha Gupta is awaiting the release of her most promising and challenging acting performance ever, in Prakash Jha’s next, ‘Chakravyuh’. In this film, she plays an astute cop who manages to keep her calm even when she is ferociously angry. Want to know more about how Esha managed all this? We did too. That is exactly why we caught up with her for a quick chat. Here is a transcript of the conversation:

So what was the most exciting thing about ‘Chakravyuh’ that made you consider this film? Let me be completely honest. For me the most exciting

Welcome to the cesspool of enchantment or ‘glamour ka daldal’ as director Madhur Bhandarkar would like to articulate. Films about people behind the films tend to get preachy as filmmakers believe they know more about their own kind than anyone else. And in this case, the misplaced confidence ensures that the research department is sacked and most dialogues begin with ‘Humaari industry mein’… and end with ‘manipulate karo ya ho jao’, ‘zip aur zabaan sambhalke kholna chahiye’, ‘confidence se bolo toh jhooth ko bhi sach maana jaata hain’, ‘heroines ka waqt bohot kam hota hain’ and everything else in between. Basically, Bhandarkar likes to spell it out like the backbenchers aren’t paying attention.

The naughty kahaani being narrated here is that of Bollywood’s most wanted actress Mahi Arora (Kareena Kapoor). She may be conquering new heights with every film but in her

When a movie begins by revealing the grim end, no matter how cheerful the following flashback journey may be, you’re left dreading the inevitable. But ‘Barfi!’ manages to make you forget just that by narrating a lighthearted tragedy that wins particularly for what it doesn’t do: It doesn’t draw a pitiful picture of the deaf-mute lead. It doesn’t attempt to do anything that would suggest that it has been made to attract foreign festival ferns on the DVD cover. It doesn’t make the lead character overcome his disability to do something no man, woman or dog (without that disability) would ever think of attempting. Still foggy? Here’s what it doesn’t do: Click here to learn how to make a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film in a few easy steps.

United expressions of Barfi

Barfi! is a whistled version of Murphy, the name of our deaf and mute hero (Ranbir Kapoor) or how he would call himself. He sits on the fence between village idiot andRead More »from Barfi! review

Barfi! star, Ileana D'cruz talks about breaking down during her audition in the film

Much has been written about Ileana D'cruz's Bollywood debut 'Barfi!' but few know much about the girl who will romance Bollywood's poster boy Ranbir Kapoor in her very first film. If you've seen the trailer, her Bengali bride avatar would've caught your fancy or left you a bit curious at best. Ileana may be plunging into Hindi films now but this Mumbai girl has already achieved celeb status in Telegu films and has even endorsed several big brands in TV commercials. In a candid chat with Yahoo! India, she tells us about her journey into Bollywood and what was her plan B, incase her film career didn't take off.

Firstly, why did you consider moving to Bollywood and how did it happen?
The 'why' is only because a film like 'Barfi!' came along. If it wasn't for a film like it, it wouldn't have been Bollywood. The 'how' is very simple. I had read about the film a long time back but there was no clarity on